


A(nother) tale of unrequited love

by KinkMe



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Break Up, Drunk Sex, M/M, Quick decisions, angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-09
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2017-12-26 03:28:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/961054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KinkMe/pseuds/KinkMe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A break up happens. A chance is taken.  Let's see how it ends up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hero worship

The bar was a dark, smoke filled hole. It had several odd looking tables, a few dingy booths against one wall and an old, stylised painting of Atlas straining under the world’s weight as its only decoration. The bar counter ran the whole length of one of the oblong room’s sides and had a myriad of mismatched barstools shoved in front of it. In earlier years Nico could have hung out here without the worry of meeting other demigods, or being asked his age for that matter, but not anymore. Somehow the place had become the gathering ground for the halfbreeds who wanted a place to just ‘hang out’. And even though he detested being surrounded by them Nico persisted in coming here. Maybe it was stubbornness, but probably it was some perverse masochistic need to hear the love of his life’s praises being sung by the whole mythical community. He’d lost count of the amount of evenings he’d spent sitting by the bar and just listening to scraps of gossip about Poseidon’s son.

“Did you hear Percy Jackson bested the minotaur at the gods’ annual winter games?”

“Did you hear Percy saved a little girl from the harpies?”

“Percy brought three new halfbloods to camp!”

“Percy…

“Percy…

“Percy!”

Nico sighed and shifted on his barstool causing the ice in his drink to clink. He knew it was probably not good to come back again and again to sit and pine, but to be honest there wasn’t much to do for the son of Hades in the present day. There were no big prophecies or threats, had not been for the last 8 years and unlike Percy, who was loved more and more each day by humans and immortals alike, no one had need for the eyesore that was Nico. So when he was not working his day job or running errands for his father he was here, listening covertly (hungrily), for any news about the man he had not seen in 4 years.

The night carried on and Nico spent it as he spent all his nights at the bar, nursing a whiskey  on the rocks and wrapped up in his thoughts. He only surfaced from them when two girls slid onto two empty stools on his right. If they had been paying him any mind he would have left immediately, but they seemed intent of their own discussion. This suited him fine, since as it turned out, their conversation was about Nico’s favourite obsession.

“Did you see that article about Percy in the Times today? He’s even a hero to the humans, becoming a fireman was such an awesome choice for someone like him.” The girls were sitting close together, their heads bent over the small bright light of a cell phone and Nico assumed they were watching some kind of footage. He made no move to watch, though. He liked to preserve the illusion that he had some control over his obsession. “Yeah,” the other one reiterated with a short giggle. “I saw him and Annabeth at camp the other day as well. What I’d give to be in her shoes!” The two lapsed into giggles again and Nico grimaced into his drink.

_I know the feeling._

Pale hands tightened around his rapidly warming glass as the thought wandered across his consciousness and then, following on its heels, something twinged at the back of his mind, _again_.

 Nico grumbled under his breath bad temperedly and swiped a hand through his hair. He’d had this annoying, unsettling feeling all evening since some time before he’d locked the door to the small, second hand bookstore where he worked. He had no idea what had caused it and had not taken the time between then and coming here to gather his network of spirits to him to figure out from where the feeling originated. Honestly it was an annoying chore that he didn’t feel like doing. In fact all he felt like doing was sulking.

And that was the plan, but as the evening wore on the unsettling feeling only grew until it was so annoying that the brunette finally felt the need to do something about it. “I get it. I get it.” He grumbled and slapped a few bills down on the bar top as payment for his drinks. The barman lifted a hand in acknowledgement to him before Nico took a step backwards and melded with the shadows behind him.

He appeared moments later in the shadowy bedroom doorway of his small apartment and went over to the neatly made bed. Covers were tossed into a careless pile on the ground as he climbed onto the bed to sit cross legged in the middle with his hands relaxed on his knees. For the first time in hours his attention shifted from brooding on his one sided love to the darkness inside him. It was easy really, all he needed to do was tweak here and nudge there and he was connected to his network of spirits.

Finally it turned out to be one bothersome link in his chain that had caused the annoyance and Nico was somewhat shocked to find that it was one of the spirits he had tied to Percy years ago. In the long while since that specific spirit had been tied to Poseidon’s son there had been occasional twinges, but nothing so self-destructive as this consuming self hatred. Nico’s hands twitched on his knees as he watched the obviously sloshed older man through the spirit. The black haired man was leaning on a bar counter, his head repeatedly slipping from the palm it was resting on. The younger brunette knew this was none of his business and he knew that his going over there would probably do nothing for his own emotional well being, but still, he couldn’t just sit and watch. Not now that the older demigod’s distress was staring him in the face. The wish to not just ignore what was happening snapped Nico’s concentration and he twitched out of his trance. He knew it was a bad idea, he knew it, but that didn’t stop him from getting off the bed and stepping into his little patch of shadows behind the door. He appeared at the back of a bar just a little more classy than Nico’s own hang out appearing relaxed and nonchalant as if he’d been there all evening.

It wasn’t hard to spot the black haired demi-god especially not in his inebriated state when he was literally sleeping on the bar. Nico gave his neck a quick rub as he stared at the older man’s back. He had seen little other than pictures of Percy for years and felt, perhaps, unduly surprised at the broadness of his shoulders. The brunette was suddenly nervous, he’d come here full of intentions but now what? What was he supposed to do now? A few seconds later he was saved from doing anything by Percy himself. The man turned around as if he’d sensed that he was being stared at and an instant later brown eyes met green ones squarely. Percy’s widened at the sight of the slender, black clad man behind him. “Nico?” He said the name hesitantly as if tasting it out. Then his face broke out into a huge, drunken grin and he was suddenly off his stool, his arms wrapped tightly around the younger man. “Nico! It _is_ you! You’ve grown, Kid! So much.” The last word was more than a little slurred and Nico grimaced, already regretting his decision. What the hell was this drunk good for?

Gently he prised the demigod’s arms from around him and steered him back towards his stool. “Hey Percy. How’s it going?” He said calmly after the black haired man was safely back on his seat. His question was greeted with an awkward smile. “Ah, well, good enough, you know?” Percy’s bloodshot eyes slid from the other man’s as the smile slid off his face. Moments later he looked up again and attempted another smile. “Tell me instead how’ve you been?” While he was speaking he gestured for the barman to fill up his glass. They both remained silent as the centaur barman clip-clopped over them to refill the glass. Nico followed the glass’s ascent upwards to Percy’s lips and watched as it was drained in one gulp. Before speaking he pressed a hand down on the one Percy had already lifted in signal to the barman again. “I’ve been well, thank you. Actually I only came here because I was worried about you.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them and he sucked in a breath. Please, please let him be too drunk to notice and so he seemed to be.

“Worried about me? Nah, didn’t you hear? Everybody loves me!” Percy’s voice rose at the end of his utterance, but instead of arrogance the only thing Nico heard was self derision. “Percy…” Nico cocked his head to the side and his eyebrows dipped in a frown as he watched the demigod’s expression crumble. He didn’t really know what to say he’d never been great with the sympathy thing. Percy pressed his face into his palms and mumbled almost too softly to hear.  “Annabeth left me.” Nico’s sensitive hearing picked up the older man’s audible swallow before his voice continued, sounding bitter. “She said she couldn’t keep up with my hero complex anymore. Said I was _obsessed_ with saving people. Can you fucking believe it?” At first Nico felt a surge of elation, then disgust at feeling happy when obviously Percy was so hurt by his break-up. Then more elation, Percy was finally free!

Nico managed to repress an eye roll as he looked over the object of his affection and had his rational mind step in. So he was free, big deal, it didn’t really mean anything for Nico. Except of course if what he wanted from the older man was one night of drunken sex followed with years of loathing. Nico tilted his head and made a quick swipe with his thumb over his lower lip. He’d never really dwelled much on right and wrong and had never really had any qualms with what other people would call ‘taking advantage of’. And seriously, to be desperately honest, one night was more than he would have gotten if the demigod had not broken up with his wise-ass girlfriend. Just then Nico had his answer.

Yes, it was worth it.

If Percy had noticed anything odd about Nico’s behaviour in the last few minutes it was lost to his drunken haze. He had dropped his head back onto the bar top after his vigorous exclamation and was watching the younger man blearily. The hurt expression on his face made Nico’s heart hurt and also fuelled his intent. Gently he laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “Sorry, Perce,” was his only reply as he kept the hold on the bigger man’s broad shoulder and squeezed again.

Throughout the rest of the evening Nico listened patiently to all of Percy’s ramblings, but tried to sober him up at least a little. It wouldn’t do for the black haired man to pass out before Nico could put his plan into action. And finally, “Come on, Perce, it’s closing time.” Nico made sure the tab was paid before wrapping an arm around Percy’s shoulders and helping him upright. Now he could finally steer him outside and into a dark patch of shadow at the side of the bar. Percy leaned on Nico’s shoulder a little more. “I’m here with my bike.” He told him and gestured to the parking lot’s general location with a wide sweep of his arm. Nico raised an eyebrow at him and smiled slightly. “I don’t think you’re in any condition to drive, Percy. You can crash at my place and I’ll come drop you off in the morning to collect your motorcycle.” The black haired man’s only reply was a half hearted nod, but it was enough of an answer for the brunette who tightened his grip on Percy’s waist before he took a step backwards into the building’s shadow.

Up until this point in the evening Nico had made no attempt to alert Percy to his desires, but that changed as they stepped through his bedroom door. Once inside the room Nico gently pressed Percy into a sitting position on the bed. The other man was at least alert enough to look around and notice the they were in the bedroom. He frowned slightly and tilted his head upwards to catch Nico’s gaze. “Hey, I can sleep in the living room, Nic, it’s no prob…” He cut himself off and stared wide eyed as Nico tossed his shirt aside and straddled him. The smile Nico gave him wasn’t quite lusty. In fact he seemed uneasy and more than a little nervous. “Hey,” Nico said softly and placed his lips at the juncture of Percy’s neck and shoulders, “Don’t hate me for this when you’re sober, okay?” Percy stared for moments longer before slowed senses brought what he was feeling to his attention. He surprised both of them by groaning slightly as Nico began nibbling on his jaw and figured that if he was making sounds then this probably wasn’t as bad as it seemed in some faraway place in his mind. He made another humming sound as their lips finally connected and Nico took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. He pushed his tongue into Percy’s mouth and set to tangling it thoroughly with the other man’s.

Percy had never given kissing another man much thought, but this one seemed to know thoroughly what he was doing and the black haired demigod found that he was content to just let Nico dominate his mouth in quick, selfish motions. Before he could fully comprehend what was happening Nico had set about unbuttoning his shirt. The brunette ran his hands over newly exposed flesh and soon his mouth followed. Lightly running his mouth over Percy’s left nipple he was heartened when the man above him moaned. “Nngh, Nico…” Nico grinned against Percy’s flesh and let his wandering hands reach Percy’s belt. He paused momentarily as Percy’s hands found his and gripped them weakly. Attacking his right nipple and biting down aggressively gave Nico the opening he needed to remove the older man’s lax hands and situate them on his hips. Moments later he had the belt undone and tossed on the floor next to their shirts. Perversely he ground his hips down on the black haired and heard Percy gasp.

“Nico! Nic!”

Nico smiled again as he slid off Percy’s lap and kneeled between his legs. Now came the rest test. Percy had seemingly enjoyed all of Nico’s ministrations until now, but if Nico couldn’t get his cock up then everything was a wasted effort. Percy yelped in shock when Nico slowly swiped his tongue over his head. Nico raised his eyes to watch the drunk man’s mouth work soundlessly. When he finally seemed remember how to speak all that came out was a drawn out moan as the brunette finally took his dick into his mouth. Nico’s mouth curved around the penis in his mouth as he started to bob his head slowly. There was nothing wrong with his blowjob skills, of that he was sure and Percy seemed to agree. If his thrown back head and closed eyes were any indication. After some time Nico let Percy’s hard, saliva slickened cock pop out of his mouth and eyed it for a few seconds. Honestly, he didn’t know what he’d been worried about, this had been _easy_. “Nico…” His name spilled for the lips above him and there was a tug on his hair. The brunette smiled again, he hadn’t even noticed Percy gripping his hair. With a sly little laugh he pushed the other demigod onto his back and climbed back onto the bed to push him backwards until Percy was propped up against the head board. “Got some latent homosexual tendencies Perce?” He asked teasingly as he reached into the bed side drawer to his right to remove his lube. Percy blinked at him, now in an alcohol and lust induced haze, and raised his hands to drag Nico’s mouth down onto his. Quite unexpectedly.

Nico was quite shocked by this turn of events, but he allowed himself to be dominated by the man under him and moaned wantonly into the heated kiss.  When they finally broke the kiss Percy dropped his hands to Nico’s still present jeans and tugged at them weakly.

“Off.”

Nico laughed breathlessly and complied as he felt Percy’s hands travel over his torso, exploring and mapping. “Mmmm, Percy…” Nico groaned as Percy swiped over one of his nipples. Instantly intrigued Percy repeated the motion and watched, panting slightly, as Nico arched into him and moaned again. “He-hey, Percy, I’m trying to get these oooooffff— _oohh._ ” Percy sucked and worried the nipple in his mouth with enthusiasm all the while watching the brunette on top of him for reaction. Finally Nico managed to gather enough brain cells to kick off his jeans and boxers all in one go. Percy was travelling upwards with his tongue and now sucking contentedly at the hollow of Nico’s slender throat. His stopped his motions when the brunette stiffened against him and groaned again. Looking curiously at the younger man Percy noticed something that made his eyes go wide and his throat terribly dry. “Nico?” He inquired hoarsely as the boy on top of him continued moving a finger in and out of himself. Nico gave him a preoccupied little smile and leaned closer their cocks suddenly flush against each other. “Yes Perce?” Percy’s tongue darted out to lick at his dry lips when Nico added a second finger inside himself and pressed his face into the crook of Percy’s neck. Giving Percy the perfect vantage point to watch those two fingers pistoning in and out of Nico’s body. Percy felt himself grow harder with each buck of the brunette’s fingers and finally, out of patience, he tugged at Nico’s arm. The younger man raised his head just enough to see the look in Percy’s eye before smiling knowingly. “Oh, all right.” He purred against Percy’s neck before removing his fingers and wrapping one hand around Percy’s cock. With the other he reached for his open tube of lube and he squeezed some of the gel onto Percy. Percy swallowed audibly as Nico spread the cold gel over him. Then the younger man was straddling him, hips raised over his dick. Nico’s groan as he worked himself onto Percy was soon joined by Percy’s own vocalisation as Nico’s tight heat enveloped him slowly. Moments long they stayed in limbo, Percy finally fully embedded in the man above him.

“You gonna move?” 

Percy wondered where Nico still found the breath to be teasing as he stared at the place where the two of them were joined. He didn’t spend much time on it, though, opting instead to pull out almost all the way before thrusting back into the brunette. Nico’s hands were gripping the head board on either side of Percy’s head as he thrust himself back onto Percy’s cock. Even with Percy’s hazy perception Hades’ son looked breathtaking. His face was slightly flushed and his forehead beaded with sweat, but the most beautiful thing was definitely the way he was gripping his bottom lip between his teeth as he dipped down into Percy’s lap again and again. With one hand on Nico’s hip to guide him down Percy used the other to draw Nico in for another kiss. This one was rough and awkward as they both attempted to adjust the rhythm of the kiss and their thrusting to match each other. After a while Nico jerked his head from the contact and moaned a long and drawn out “Ooooooohhh fuuuuccckkk.” The sound alerted Percy that he had done something right and instinctively he angled his hips to repeat his previous thrust. Nico writhed above him, their kiss forgotten, and Percy made do with littering the younger man’s torso with dark hickeys as he kept his hard thrusts at the angle that seemed to drive Nico crazy. Finally Nico grabbed his cock with one hand and a few pumps later he was clenching tightly around Percy causing him to groan loudly and come with one, last hard thrust. Nico collapsed on top on the Percy as Percy’s cock softened and slipped out of his slick hole. There were no thoughts, other than those of wonder, in Poseidon’s son head as he watched the younger man fall asleep half on top of him still. After another few seconds of staring he leaned down just enough to grab the bed covers from the ground and jerk it over both of them to contentedly drift off.

QQ

Nico blinked once, twice, then thrice before determining that he was in fact awake and still lying in Percy’s arms. Gingerly he wriggled from Percy’s warm embrace and grimaced as he found himself sticky with fluids. Nico sighed. Well, that was a first, actually sleeping with the man he’d had sex with and without even showering! Nico smiled a little as he watched the older man curl up tighter after reaching one hand out in presumed search of lost body heat and couldn’t resist reaching out to run a hand lightly through his hair. He felt as if nothing could take this piece of happiness from him. Finally he had something of Percy’s that was only his. It was enough to make the younger demigod feel like he was floating, but not enough to stop his stomach from clenching as the man next to him groaned groggily. Nico stayed where he was and watched warily as Percy started waking.

The black haired man blinked just as Nico himself had done before his face transformed from sleepy tranquillity into confusion and something more that Nico couldn’t identify. Nico made himself continue watching as Percy jerked upright before sinking down again and clutching at his, probably throbbing, head. When Percy seemed to have dealt with the fact that he was awake and not able to move without pain Nico forced himself to speak around the block in his throat, “Morning Perce.” He’d tried for casual, but knew that he’d come out slightly strangled instead. Percy’s head jerked upwards again and he stared at Nico with wild eyes, “You and me…last night…I was drunk, Nico!” Nico flinched at the last accusation, but he didn’t lower his head. “Yes, I know.” Percy watched him, still bewildered, but since nothing else seemed to be happening Nico decided that he might as well get out of bed. He was a little tender, but it was nothing terrible, in fact he was probably more bothered by the fact that he was covered in sweat and come. He found Percy’s eyes on him when he looked back at the black haired man and smiled, once again going for casual, but if he was honest this smile was a little more tremulous than anything else. “Let’s get real here, would you have slept with me at any other time?”

The staring continued for another long while. Percy had nothing to say. He could see the many dark hickeys that he himself had made on Nico’s neck and chest as well as the full dark bruises on the brunette’s hips that were too apparent to ignore. Finally Percy broke their contest by looking down. He wasn’t stupid enough to deny that he willingly had taken part in whatever had happened last night. Even if he had been drunk. The sound of Nico’s retreating footsteps weren’t missed and Percy found his gaze jerked back towards the brunette’s slender figure as it made its way to his small bathroom. At the door Hades’ son stopped and looked back over one pale shoulder. “I’m going to take a shower,” he said softly, “There’s pain medication in the bedside drawer, eat something before you take it.”  

“Hey,”

Percy didn’t know what prompted him to say it, but he would never regret the question.

“Maybe I can…shower with you?”    


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico and Percy do some relationship building and Nico reflects on his insecurities.

The room’s lights were dimmed to accommodate the flickering television screen which was showing slow, rolling credits accompanied by a bad orchestral theme. Opposite the television was an old comfortable couch on which two figures were…busy. “So now that we’ve watched a movie…” Percy’s husky voice was sounding even lower than usual. “We were watching a movie?” Nico’s equally breathless voice cut him off and there was a soft rustling sound as the younger man ran a hand through his hair. Percy’s voice held a slight accusatory tone. “Well, we were, but then you …Argh! You did that! Hey, Nico, no! Come on I can’t yet! Ohh, hey…” Percy trailed off into a low groan that was accompanied by Nico’s soft, though muffled, chuckles. 

When both were lying breathlessly on the couch once more touching, but not quite cuddling, Percy tried again. “Want to see my apartment?” Nico, who’d been in a comfortable state of half sleep against the dark haired man’s larger frame, opened his eyes and hoisted himself up onto his right elbow.  
They had been seeing each other for close to one month now, but before Percy’s request their meetings had always taken place at either Nico’s apartment or the bookstore where Nico worked. They had tried a bar once which had resulted in Nico spending the evening nursing his whiskey and Percy making nice with anyone deciding to chat with the hero. Now, needless to say, Nico felt silly happy at the thought of being invited over and at the same time disgusted with himself for getting emotional over something like this. 

All this was hidden from Percy though as Nico allowed a slow smile to spread over his face making the corners of his eyes crinkle and his left cheek dimple. “Sure, I’d like that.” They looked at each other for a few seconds, grinning, before Percy rolled the brunette off the couch. Nico landed on the floor with a soft thud and Percy got up after him. Leaving an indignant and grumbling Nico on the floor Percy headed to the bathroom. “Geez, get yourself together, Nico.” He teased the prone brunette before closing the door quickly to avoid the pillow hurtling toward him.

QQ

Nico did not make a habit of visiting other people’s homes and thus of standing at their front doors. But he was forming a quick hypothesis on the nature of awkward moments and lost keys in pockets that could not nearly be that deep as he watched Percy fumble for his, smile apologetically back at him and finally acquire the right one to fit in the lock. Feeling oddly disappointed at the ‘ah-ha!’ moment had just passed without being commented on, Nico crossed the threshold behind the black haired man and entered a hallway crowded by a small table covered with miscellaneous odds such as a stack of unopened mail, a few hairpins, a cap and moments later the previously errant keys. The “sorry it’s such a sty” comment was answered with a roll of the eyes. It wasn’t as if Nico had been expecting anything else. After all, Percy was a regular guy. Even if there were hair accessories on his hallway table.

Percy led him to the spacious living room and directed him to one of the leather couches placed in a semi-circle around the flat screen mounted on the wall by the door. Nico sat gingerly, as people tend to do when they are in an unfamiliar place, at the tip of an armchair and looked around curiously. “Coffee’s fine.” He replied absently to Percy’s question and since he was already preoccupied with looking the place over, just about registered when he left.

It was a nice apartment. The living room was spacious with one wall made up entirely out of glass panels that provided a great view of the outlying city. A kitchen nook to the left of the window was separated from the rest of the living room by nothing more than a L-shaped countertop sporting a microwave, silver coffee machine and toaster. There were two doors leading off the window on the right as well and Nico could only conclude that they lead to bedrooms or a bedroom and bathroom. He watched as Percy made his way around the counter, sit on an adjacent couch and present him with a steaming cup. Nico thanked him quietly and turned back to his surroundings. The room itself was painted eggshell white and was decorated with different shades of brown. All in all it was very tasteful, conservative, but tasteful. And probably Annabeth’s legacy since, he stared critically at the wooden frames decorating the walls, he couldn’t imagine Percy hanging prints.

Nico attended to Percy once more when the black haired man cleared his throat for the second time in the few minutes that had passed since he’d sat down. Percy looked awkward, as if he wasn’t quite sure what to do with Nico now. Or maybe it was just because it was Percy’s first time bringing a lover here that wasn’t Annabeth. They had after all shared this space for more than two years. “Do you want to watch another movie?” He finally asked just to break the silence. Percy’s face transformed into a lighter expression at his question and he even grinned a little. “Why don’t we just skip the movie and do what we were gonna do somewhere during the watching of it anyway?” Nico’s own lips twitched at the utterance and silently he counted one, two, three, four…Like every single time before, when Poseidon’s son had suggested they have sex – or do something even remotely sexual – Percy’s cheeks heated slightly and he looked faintly embarrassed. His embarrassment seemed to grow when Nico remained silent and the younger man watched with delight as Percy began stuttering. “Well, of c-c-course, only if you want to. I me-I mean, no pressure or anything.” Taking delight in the other demigod’s almost innocent fumbling was probably a little sadistic, but Nico could claim it. He was after all a son of the Underworld. Finally deciding his poor lover had had enough Nico shrugged one shoulder lazily, put his coffee down on a conveniently nearby table and switched seats so he could sit next to Percy. “Have I ever said no?” His teasing answer obviously helped Percy to relax and it was only when Nico was sitting on his lap with his hands on Percy’s waistband that the older man became sombre again.

The lightening switch in emotion was surprising, to say the least. One moment he was still kissing Percy’s neck and the next he felt the man shift underneath him and place a hand on his cheek. Nico raised his head and was caught straight in Percy’s serious gaze. “Nico, you are okay with being here, right?” The question threw the younger demigod. He’d have been lying if he said that seeing touches of Percy’s ex around the place didn’t severely impress upon him the fact that he was sleeping with a man who was obviously still infatuated with his previous lover, but he felt no need to tell Percy that. It was irrelevant. So he smiled instead, contrasting nicely with Percy’s solemn expression. “Hey, you know me, I’m comfortable anywhere that I can screw you.” He said and leaned in in order to end the discussion. Percy’s reciprocal smile was quick to appear, but wry as if he knew that Nico’s answer had meant to divert his attention. Not that it hadn’t worked, in moments he was leaning forward as well until their foreheads were touching. From there it was a short distance for Percy to reach and press his lips against Nico’s teasingly by barely grasping the younger man’s bottom lip between his own. Nico breathed softly and leaned in closer to mould them more intimately. He gave in when Percy’s tongue flicked over his lower lip and allowed the older man to win their dominance tussle inside his mouth. Percy explored him thoroughly, taking his mouth in languid, selfish motions that had Nico anchoring himself as deep as he could against the other’s body. Moments later Percy tilted them both sideways so they sprawled full length on the couch facing each other. 

The black haired man’s hand wandered lazily under Nico’s dark shirt and he had just about succeeded in rolling Nico on top of him when sounds other than their own breathing filtered through to the Brunette’s hazy hearing. With a start Nico sat up and pushed Percy off him haphazardly. The other man stared at him in confusion. At first he obviously thought it was payback for what he’d done to Nico earlier until he too heard the rattling sound of a key turning in his front door lock. With hasty movements Nico jerked his clothes into a semblance of order and scrubbed the back of his hand over wet, kiss swollen lips.  
While Nico attempted to tidy himself Percy had bolted to his feet and made his way towards the front door. His own clothing receiving the same treatment as Nico’s. Nico listened acutely, his face moulded into a tiny frown, as Percy stepped into the hallway and the door clicked open. Even before he said his greeting Nico knew who it was. After all, how many people would have a key to Percy’s apartment? 

“Sorry, I know it’s unannounced, but I just came to get the last of my stuff.” 

Her voice floated through the doorway. Nico took a deep breath, made sure his face was smoothed and braced himself for her appearance as the soft clicking of sensible boot heels neared. He needn’t have been so nervous, though, when Annabeth stepped through the threshold all her expression showed was surprise. “Nico di Angelo? Wow! I haven’t seen you in years.” She stepped closer quickly, whether to embrace him Nico didn’t know, but he stood up nevertheless and offered her an awkward smile. “Hallo Annabeth.” She was only a meter or so from him now and still smiling. Her purpose seemed momentarily forgotten. “How have you been? I think about you quite a lot when we’re at camp Halfblood. The Hades cabin always looks so lonely.” The use of pronoun ‘we’ wasn’t lost on Nico, but he momentarily ignored it as he was doing his best keep his expression genial and trying not to scoff at her words. He knew very well that people ignored that damn cabin. 

They stood in silence while Nico attempted to dredge up a meaningless social response until, finally, Percy stepped into the room. The other male hardly looked comfortable standing in a room with his current and ex lovers, but Nico was nevertheless relieved. Now Percy could have the honour of speaking. “I put your things in the spare room, Annabeth. Do you need some help carrying it down?” Annabeth looked back at him and gave a slight nod. “Thanks.” She followed Percy when he walked past her into one of the rooms that led off the living room and cast Nico a smile before disappearing into it. Nico sighed softly and fell back onto the couch. He could hear them murmuring to each other, although what was being said eluded even his sensitive hearing. So, with nothing else to do, he waited, first motionlessly and then by tapping the seconds out with his fingers on the couch’s edge. It was probably no more than 10 minutes, but it felt like a millennium. 

Well shit. 

A soft indistinct laugh from the other room had Nico cease the tapping of his fingers in favour of gripping his knees instead. He swallowed audibly and closed his eyes against the tide of jealousy washing over him. He needed to snap out of this. He couldn’t have Percy see him like this or Annabeth for that matter, but Percy mattered. He knew the black haired man liked his body and he enjoyed providing Percy comfort. But, he couldn’t help thinking the black haired man would be very put-off if he knew Nico’s true feelings. Nico knew, as well as anyone, how quickly unwanted feelings had a man running for the exit. The brunette’s eyes snapped open and he abandoned his facial expression in a flash when he heard footsteps coming his way again. Both Annabeth and Percy were carrying boxes so full the contents were pressing against bulging lids. It was only when they had both passed by his silent seat that it occurred to him that he should probably have offered to help, but a split second later he was glad he hadn’t. What if Percy wanted to be alone with her? Then he just have been pissed at him for intruding.  
Blissfully unaware of the raging turmoil in Nico’s head Percy spared him a quick smile when at the door. “I’ll be right back.” He said and paused to allow the woman to step through the threshold and into the hallway before him. Nico nodded once and raised a hand to Annabeth when she peeked her head around the doorframe to say a quick farewell. Then he sat and fidgeted again. He was anxious for Percy to come back. He wanted a kiss – or something – to reassure him that Percy was in actuality still with him. 

QQ

Percy said goodbye to Annabeth and watched her car pull away from the curb. At first he’d been annoyed by the interruption, but seeing Annabeth and finding that they could still chat easily had unexpectedly pleased him, a lot. Percy stood a moment longer staring at the disappearing tail lights of the small car before he walked back into the apartment building and punched the elevator button. On the ride up to the 7th floor, where his apartment was, Percy cautiously stayed away from thoughts on both Nico and Annabeth. It felt like exploring his feelings on the topic might lead to something complicated and Percy had just come out of complicated. He wasn’t quite up to more of it just yet. He walked through the front door of his flat and let out a quick breath. Most of the time spent with Nico over the past month had been spent screwing: In the bedroom, bathroom, living room and even that one time in the kitchen. Percy’s breath still hitched a little when he thought of that and every time he stepped into Nico’s kitchen and saw that bottle of cooking oil…Well, anyway, the point was, he didn’t know Nico all that well and it wasn’t as if they’d had any kind of significant discussion about, say, sexuality or well, dammit, food preferences! So when he stepped through that door Percy had really no idea what to expect. For all he knew Nico could bite his head off and storm out, although he liked to think he knew the brunette well enough to know that that wasn’t likely. Nico was too laid back for that.

Right? 

When he finally ventured into the living room Percy found Nico leaning against the window on the far side of the room and staring out at the lights of the homes surrounding his own. Percy cleared his throat and said calmly. “Hey, sorry about that. I had no idea she was coming over.” He stood in the doorway and watched Nico as he silently stared at the scenery until finally the silence became too much. A frown dragged his eyebrows down into a ‘v’ and Percy walked closer to hesitantly wrap his arms around Nico’s thin waist. “Nico.” He whispered and leaned in to rest his chin on the brunette’s left shoulder. Moments later he was surprised by a small chuckle tumbling from Nico’s lips and moved slightly backwards when the younger man made to turn in the circle of his arms. Nico’s smile was light and teasing. “You look terribly worried about such a little thing, Mr Hero.” He said placing his hands on Percy’s shoulders and pressing a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth before leaning in farther and laying his cheek against Percy’s. “I’m perfectly aware that you guys have a lot of history.” He whispered in Percy’s ear before nibbling its shell gently. “And I think I’ve made it pretty clear that I don’t mind being the rebound guy.” Nico’s words were worrying. Had Percy done something to give Nico that idea? He opened his mouth to protest. “Nico,” He said again, but got no further before his lips were captured and he was drawn down into a distracting kiss. When they finally broke free of each other Nico hung on by stringing his arms around Percy’s neck and speaking softly against his lips. “Let’s not make things too complicated, okay? We just want to have fun.” The vague worry at Nico’s attitude didn’t go away, but when the brunette claimed Percy’s lips again and whispered his desires seductively into his ear it was easy to forget the distressing feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> This is the disclaimer.


	3. Bet you didn't expect this

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Percy puts his foot in it, Nico makes a dramatic exit, but everything turns out...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp, here it is. Although I'm pretty sure no one expected to ever read an ending. Maybe I should have stuck to one chapter :3

Nico absently took a sip of his wine and adjusted his hip against the breakfast counter that made the inner wall of Percy’s apartment’s small kitchen. He was watching Percy as he stirred something in a small pot on the stove. What it was he had no idea.

“We’re having dinner at my place tonight.”

Was all Percy had said when he called him up that afternoon. He hadn’t even known the man could cook and Perce had been incredibly close-mouthed about what it was they were going to be eating. “It’s my specialty,” the black haired man had said with an infuriating, mysterious grin when Nico arrived. Once inside the door a glass had been pushed into his hand and instructed to wait for a while until the sauce was finished.

Nico didn’t mind the order, it was good wine – though he wouldn’t consider himself an expert on wine – and he got to watch Percy’s backside as he moved around the kitchen. All in all it was definitely not too bad to wait.

“So how was your week?”

Percy asked as he washed and dried his hands after finally moving the simmering pot from the hot plate. As he listened to Nico speak he started to put together a salad, quickly and efficiently. Once again Nico was silently impressed, was there anything the guy couldn’t do? He was so into his staring that Percy had to touch his shoulder before he gave his attention to the older man again.

“Sorry what?” Percy smiled at him and hefted the bottle in his hand, “Top you up?” He asked gesturing slightly to Nico’s nearly empty glass.

Nico returned his smile ruefully and help out the glass. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Just let me pour the sauce over the pudding, then we can eat. In fact,” Percy made a tiny shooing motion, “You can go take a seat and I’ll be right there.”

Nico gave a tiny nod and turned to the already set dining table. Before he had completely turned Percy’s hand on his elbow stopped him. Nico turned his head and was greeted with a quick kiss and the salad bowl. Nico caught the bowl just as Percy let it go. “Thanks,” Percy said with a grin and wink and Nico couldn’t help but mimic the gesture again.

“Yeah yeah, pour your sauce.”

He made his way to the table and sat down only moments before Percy. The black haired man put an obviously hot ceramic dish on the mats in the middle before sliding into his own seat. He spent a moment fussing with getting comfortable while Nico tipped his head slightly and took another sip of wine. He lowered his glass as he felt Percy’s eyes on him. He couldn’t quite identify the look that the older man was currently sporting, but without even knowing why Nico felt his cheeks heating up.

“What?”

He asked finally after swallowing. Percy’s mouth lifted at one corner in amusement and he raised his glass to tap against Nico’s.

“Nothing. I’m just happy you’re here.”

Nico shifted his weight and took another sip. He looked quizzically at Percy, “Did I give you the idea that I wasn’t going to come?” His statement made Percy let out a chuckle. “No-no,” he said with a shake of his head. “It’s just, I guess, these past two weeks it’s kind of felt that just maybe, one of these days, you won’t.”

The conversation was getting too close for comfort for Nico, who had, since meeting Annabeth, in fact thought of not meeting Percy once or twice. This time it wasn’t just a tiny sip of wine. He gulped quickly and said in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere,

“Well, I’ll see after this meal, if it’s good enough maybe I’ll keep you around just a little longer.” His statement got another laugh.

“And here I thought you were keeping me around for the sex.” It was Nico’s turn to laugh and even relax slightly.

“True, at least I like that already.” “Me too,” Percy agreed,

“And you of course. I like you, in fact,” He paused and to Nico’s horror a light blush rose to Percy’s handsome face,

“I think I might be in lo...”

All of a sudden all the warmth drained from the room and Percy stopped midsentence to stare at a suddenly rigid Nico in confusion.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

Nico had seen the words coming from a mile away, even if Percy hadn’t finished the sentence. “Don’t say that.” He barely managed to bite the words out which only added to the black haired man’s confusion.

“I don’t want to hear those fucking words.”

Percy seemed shocked at Nico vehemence.

“Hey, come on, it’s not something bad. I’m in love with you.”

The expression of his face was still confused, but now smiling as well as if expecting Nico to calm down at hearing them. As a result, he wasn’t quite expecting it when they had Nico shoving his chair backwards and flying upright. To Percy’s further shock the Brunette’s snarled at him.

“Fucking idiot!” Then he swung around and Percy didn’t even have time to rise from his chair before Nico stepped into a convenient shadow and disappeared.

QQ

“Nico, Nico come on please answer the phone. I just want to talk.”

Percy trailed off as the phone cut him off. Again. He stared numbly at the phone in his hand. A guy probably had to take the hard truth that if his boyfriend had not answered his phone even once in the past two days in which he had been called about twenty times that said boyfriend probably did not want to speak to him. And well, that they probably weren’t boyfriends anymore.

Boyfriends.

Percy turned the word over in his mind. This was the first time that he had thought of Nico as his boyfriend. The word had never turned up before. Percy shook his head and tossed the phone on the couch. Now that he thought of it, he’d never even had the chance to introduce Nico like that. He dropped onto the couch next to the discarded phone and hung his head between his knees. Had that been on purpose? Had Nico seriously never meant for them to be a couple?

Moments later Percy snorted in annoyance and thumped the heel of his hand against his temple. What was he thinking? No one looked like that after a confession if everything had just been a joke.

When the phone rang Percy grabbed for it so quickly that he almost threw it off the couch. He pressed the call button haphazardly and jammed it against his ear.

“Nico?!”

“Why would Nico be calling you?”

Annabeth’s cool voice washed over him from the other end of the line.

“And why do you sound like that call may be a lifeline?”

Percy suppressed a sigh. She was as inquisitive as always. Percy sat back against the couch.

“Nevermind, what’s up?”

Annabeth wasn’t quite as nice as to keep her sighs to herself.

“Have you seriously forgotten?”

Percy’s blank silence seemed to answer her question and he heard another loud sigh.

“Perce, the party? My stepmother’s? On Saturday?”

Eh? It took Percy a few moments to get his brain out of the Nico funk and working well enough to remember about the party that had been planned months ago.

“Oh yeah, I remember. Just didn’t think you’d want me to come with you. Since we’re not together anymore.”

Annabeth laughed softly,

“Well, I know I can’t expect it from you, but my parents do love you.”

Percy took a deep breath. He really didn’t feel like it, but he was afraid that if he had to spend the whole weekend in the apartment that he’d only sink deeper into depression and call Nico another million times.

“Okay, sure. Should I bring anything?” He could hear Annabeth’s relieved smile in her voice. “No, it’s fine I’ve got everything covered. I’ll meet you at the house at seven, okay?”

"It’s fine, See you then.”

They finished off the call and Percy tossed the phone back on the couch. He had to curl his hands into fists to restrain from urge to pick up the phone and try to contact Nico just one more time. It was obviously time to accept that he’d exhausted that avenue.

QQ

“Percy...Percy!”

Percy jerked his head upwards and looked at Annabeth with wide eyes. She blinked owlishly at his blank expression then sighed and sat on the couch next to him.

“So what’s up?”

She finally asked while smoothing wrinkles from her blue dress.

“Nothing much.”

Percy replied before peering into his drink again. Annabeth snorted most unladylike and gave him her trademark do you think I’m an idiot look.

“Really? So you’ve been distracted all night...downright rude actually, for no reason? Jeez, no wonder I dumped such an unsociable guy. Sitting here in his corner sulking – it’s probably about something silly anyway...”

“Okay! Okay, hell Annabeth, I’ll tell you.”

Percy stared at her still reeling from the fact that she had just casually brought up what had been a very painful break up for him. Then moments later he himself realised that although he had been surprised, there was no serious pain after hearing her words. Percy looked blinked a few times and finally registered the gentle smile on Annabeth’s face.

She really was beautiful.

And so very perceptive. He almost couldn’t believe it himself, that there was only the ghost of old pain and no twinge of regret. Had he really gotten over her so fast? Of course he had, he’d had Nico after all. And now he didn’t. For a moment Percy was more afraid than he had ever been and in panic he blurted out.

“It’s about Nico!”

Now it was Annabeth’s turn to blink, but her expression cleared up quickly. With a snap of her fingers she smiled triumphantly.

“I just knew it! For what reason had he possibly been at your apartment that day? It was too strange!” Then her expression became more serious and it seemed that she was trying her best to convey her feelings to him.

“How did it happen, Percy?”

Percy stared back into his glass as he told her about the alcohol and that first evening. When he finished he looked back at Annabeth and asked the question that had been niggling at him through his whole story.

“You’re not pissed?”

Annabeth flashed him that gentle smile again. “We were broken up, Perce, what should I have been pissed about? It’s not like I wanted you to pine away without me.” She sighed at him when his expression clearly read that he had maybe expected something along those lines. Because not even Annabeth was that pragmatic, right? Then she surprised him once more by shaking her head and tapping her fist against his forehead.

“Percy, have you ever told me you loved me?”

“Yeah! Of course I did!”

Even as he said it, Percy wasn’t sure why he was defending himself. This was the exact opposite of what he wanted!

Annabeth’s eye-roll had him frowning.

“Girls like that kind of confession with something more than a companionable hug and kiss on the cheek, you know? At first, when we moved in together, I thought that I’d give our relationship another chance. I thought that maybe you’d become a little more invested in it, but pretty soon I realised what I’d known for some time. You might love me, but you’re not in love with me. Get it?”

Percy’s face was serious as he obviously mulled over what he’d just heard. Was it really that simple? True enough, it had been fun to be with Annabeth and really comfortable. But maybe there had not been any passion, if that was what they called this thing he was feeling in his chest.

“Shit Annabeth, I think you’re getting more like your mom every day.”

Percy meant it wholeheartedly and the slight blush and small smile that it brought to her face made him feel all fuzzy inside. His own smile dropped off.

“Now I don’t know what to do though. I have no idea why the hell Nico bolted the other night. Worse, he won’t answer my calls. I think I’ve left fifty messages.”

Percy dropped his head again in dejection.

“Tell me what happened?”

Annabeth coaxed gently and again Percy related the evening’s events. It was strange to think that he remembered the whole crap ordeal in so much detail. Finally he sat back and ran a frustrated hand through his hair sending the black strands pointing in a million different directions. After moments of silence he cast a look in Annabeth’s direction to find the woman regarding him with pity.

“Poor guy, you really are an emotional cripple, aren’t you?” Percy’s eyes widened at the insult.

“Annabeth!”

He whined and she smiled at him.

“Look, while I can’t say anything on Nico’s behalf, I know that the person you date right after a long relationship is generally considered a rebound. You know, not considered to be serious?”

His face must have given it away because she sighed and patted his hand.

“Didn’t know that?”

Percy blinked at her and he shook his head once.

“So, Nico never actually meant for us to be serious, right? Then why come on to me at all?”

Annabeth shrugged and stood from her seat, brushing the wrinkles from her dress. He watched her glide over to the drinks table and moments later she was pushing a glass into his hand. He took a sip of her father’s expensive whiskey, thoughts and possible explanations turning over and over is his mind.

“You don’t think he…was using me?” His ex-girlfriend shook her head decisively as she swallowed her own drink.

“People don’t freak out about I’m in love with you unless it’s kind of a touchy thing.”

Percy nodded slowly and took another sip. Annabeth had a point and maybe it was time for a new strategy…

QQ

Nico had spent the week since the disaster date moping between work and his room. At work he spent most of his time hiding in the back room. He’d never been so grateful that most of the customers at the bookstore were regulars and didn’t need him to keep an eye on them all the time.

At home he spent his time in bed with an inordinate amount of junk food, he was ashamed to say, but each time a thought to prepare some kind of meal for himself dared to worm its way into his morbid thoughts he managed to shake it off by curling himself further into the blankets and watching the Walking Dead on loop.

While his rational mind told him that he was overreacting to the situation, that Percy and he had not even been that serious! His heart simply couldn’t process that for a short time he’d had what he’d pined after for a long time and now, now he didn’t.

Nico burrowed deeper under the blankets, even though his alarm had gone off 15 minutes ago and he really needed to get up and shower and look presentable when his boss arrived with the new shipment books that was supposed to come in today.

He wasn’t in the mood to explain the whole stupid story to someone else especially since he was trying to avoid thinking about it himself. Hence the Walking Dead and junk food.

Finally with a colossal effort Nico did manage to heave himself up from bed, shower, boil coffee so strong it looked like tar and take off for work. Luckily the commute didn’t take long. He’d specifically looked for a place close to work when apartment hunting after being ejected from Camp Halfblood and had struck proverbial gold with his current place.

It was cosy and functional and made that he didn’t have to struggle through crowds and have people jostle and bump and make him spill his precious black lifeline. That might have been more than he could take at this point in time.

The morning air still made his breath steam as he walked to the shop entrance and spent moments digging for his own keys, as always the stupid things seeming to have dropped into that subspace where keys went.

Placing what was left of his coffee on the counter by the cash register Nico went around the shop switching on the coffee maker for client use and opening the blinds closing off the display in the store front. He always forced himself to do most of the tidying up the previous evening. If only to not have to do it while half asleep. Finished with his chores the place looked at least presentable in his professional opinion as its caretaker.

Now he had the whole rest of the day to waste waiting for his boss, catering to a few people and generally hanging about.

Nico wondered if it would be acceptable to go mope in the back room again. After all, it wasn’t as if anybody was watching…But no, not while waiting for his boss. He wasn’t depressed enough to get fired yet. With that in mind Nico drained the dregs from his now cold cup and filched a fresh one from the pot that had just brewed for visitors. Then he settled down in his chair behind the cash register with hand wrapped around the cup and the other listlessly paging through a paperback that he still meant to finish some time or another.

He was surprised when the bell above the door jingled. His boss had said after two.

_Percy._

Nico jolted from behind the counter. He wanted to stop staring, he really did, but it was _Percy_.

The other man gave him a nervous smile.

“Hey,”

He said after a while when Nico didn’t move. But then Nico finally got his face moving and his expression must have been scary because Percy hastily said.

“Okay, okay. Wait, just hear me out, Nico, please.”

He took a step closer and reached out with one hand pleadingly.

“Nico, I just came out of a long relationship, I know that.

“But until this weekend, I hadn’t even thought about that.

“I met you so soon after and everything was just fine and I didn’t hurt.

“I…it was just…I was alright.”

Percy stopped his ramble and took a deep breath.

“But, I finally realised that I said something really dumb to you and I…”

He seemed to stutter to a halt, but Nico didn’t have it in him to interrupt and watched his face run through a rapid series of expressions before he started up again.

“No. Wait. Let me start again.”

Percy tucked his hands in his pockets and gave Nico a shy smile.

“So, I had rebound with this guy, but he dumped my ass because I was an idiot. Which was completely justified,”

Percy’s smile changed into a grin.

“But I just wanted to come and introduce myself and say Hey, I’m Percy. I, um, have walked past here a few times and I wondered if you wanted to get coffee, sometime?”

Nico stared at Percy in shock. For a few moments everything was quiet and then he said.

“I kind of was this guy’s rebound, but I’m sure he’s nothing like you. And um, uh, I think if we can keep stupid statements out of it, I would be up for some coffee.”

Nico hadn’t finished speaking and a huge smile broke out on Percy’s face.

“What really? You aren’t kidding? I was so fucking nervous coming in here!

“You’d think that facing a minotaur is kind of not as terrifying as talking to you, but a good kind of terrifying!”

He rushed to explain and Nico’s expression morphed into a frown,

“That good kind of terrifying that gives me butterflies in my stomach…would you stop laughing?”

"I’m just…I’m serious, would you just!” Percy started laughing as well, “Okay so I’m corny. You agreed to have coffee with me, though. You can’t take it back.”

Nico reached out to run his fingers through Percy’s hair before smoothing down an errant strand. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was previously posted on ff.net. I guess I just want to see if a new account will help me write again. :) Lemme know what you think*
> 
> Also, Percy Jackson does not belong to me, but you knew that.


End file.
